"The shapes of these deposits are what you would expect to see if the material were carried by flowing water," said Michael Malin, president and chief scientist at Malin Space Science Systems. The firm designed the camera used on the Mars Global Surveyor.

"They have fingerlike branches at the downhill end, and [the deposits] easily diverted around small obstacles."

"It could be acidic water, it could be briny water, it could carry lots of sediment or be slushy, but [it appears that] water is involved," Edgett added.

Malin, Edgett, and colleagues announced the discovery this afternoon at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Their research is also reported in the current issue of Science.

Water's Origin Remains a Mystery

Scientists have long studied Martian surface features, like ravines, which suggest that liquid water flowed on ancient Mars.